Wellington bus fares set to rise

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Wellingtonians are advised to stock up on multi-trip tickets as public transport fares rise again.

From October 1 there will be increases to multi-trip tickets and cash fares on buses, trains and harbour ferries from zones 3 to 14. Those commuters will face a 50 cent rise in the adult cash fare.

The programme of annual increases was discussed and put forward in June and will be enforced from October. Adult multi-trip tickets will increase by 3 per cent this year, except for one-zone fares, which will be unchanged.

Those paying with cash should consider other options to lessen the impact of the fare increase, Greater Wellington councillor Peter Glensor said. ''For example, from October a cash fare for a bus journey from Wellington to Newlands or Strathmore will cost you $5. However, if you use a stored value card you'll pay only $3.54.''

He said no-one liked paying more, but public transport users needed to contribute their share towards cost increases each year. The council tried to spread the annual increase across zones so as not to hit anyone too hard in the pocket.

Wellington's public transport fares last went up in November last year. That increase focused on multi-trip and stored-card trips, including Snapper, most of which increased by about five per cent.

Mr Glensor said last year's increases were focused on the inner city, while this year's increase would target those living further away.

The revenue from fares needed to cover about half of the running costs and debt servicing for major improvements. ''Real-time information is now available for Wellington City, Hutt Valley, northern suburbs, Porirua and Kapiti bus services and will be available for train services early next year. And there are a lot more Matangi trains in service than there were this time last year,'' Mr Glensor said.

About 105,000 public transport trips are made on an average week day. About 56 per cent, or 59,000, of those trips cover three or more zones.

Greater Wellington regional council voted for the fares in June.

Details of the increases:

Adult multi-trip tickets (10-trip, smartcard and monthly tickets) will all increase by three per cent, except for the one-zone fares which won't change.